HOI III (Their Finest Hour) AAR - Going it alone

[undercovergeek]

Mussolini quietly reminded Hitler of the Empire's neutrality in the current conflict, Hitler instantly dismissed such talk and started bargaining. He offered Italy the French border provinces, including Monaco, after the defeat of France. Mussolini responded that Italy would only be interested in Southern France if the entire coastal region (creating an uninterrupted land bridge to the Spanish provinces) were on the table. Hitler's reaction was to go into bargaining overdrive. If Italy those lands she would need to contribute eighty divisions, not the aforementioned thirty two. Mussolini thought it wise to remind Hitler an attack on France would mean war with the United Kingdom, and Italy sought to avoid such a war, at least until her carrier fleet was ready. Hitler assured Mussolini that he had nothing to fear from the tottering British Empire. After the fall of France, Hitler planned to bomb London into submission, and if they refused to submit, he was manufacturing troop transports for an invasion of the island kingdom.



Mussolini's targets

Mussolini carefully studied Hitler's maps and feigned interest in his plans. He asked numerous questions and made all the right noises about plans to link forces but Mussolini refused to provide any commitment. Hitler demonstrated no diplomatic tact, no finesse and bluntly pressed for a commitment. He wanted the attack to commence within thirty days. Mussolini's response was more diplomatic but just as blunt. Italy had no dispute with Germany and did not object to its territorial ambitions, whether in the east or in France. In fact, Italy would cheer on its fascist brethren in their struggle with the decrepit democracies. However, Italy had just finished over two years of near constant war involving eight different campaigns. The Italian people were tired of war, and they were determined to sit this one out. The answer at that time was no.

Hitler exploded and began shouting, Mussolini barely caught references to something about "Italian fools", "involvement inevitable", "historic opportunity" and "betrayal". Mussolini assured Hitler that if the Allies were foolish enough to attack the New Roman Empire, that she would be more than willing to form a Pact of Steel with Germany and Japan, but absent such provocation, Italy would not enter the war. He excused himself and left the conference - he headed straight to Rome. If the New Roman Empire wanted the French land bridge, she would have to fight Germany for it.

[undercovergeek]

Something like that Bob!

On his return to Rome, Mussolini summoned all his advisors, the General staff, heads of agency - he wanted to know numbers, force compositions and he wanted to know now. The breadth of New Roman Empire matched that of the old, running from Spain in the west to the Persian border in the heart of the Middle East. Northern Europe, Asia and Persia were all engulfed in bloody war, and the New Roman Empire, seemingly peaceful, was in the eye of the storm.

Most major nations saw Italy as the world's greatest threat to peace and their own independence, but each had reasons not to attack. The United States and Japan were too remote, France and Great Britain had their hands full, with Germany advancing on the Maginot line. Germany still saw Italy as its natural ally and still hoped to woo her into the Axis. The Soviet Union was still morosely healing from its purges and not ready for war.......... yet.

Italy had the time to prepare, but how much time and in which direction these plans should go would always be uncertain.

Reports and statistics started to come in -



Italy currently fielded 99 Infantry Brigades, 40 Mountaineer Brigades, 76 Artillery Brigades, 32 Marine Brigades, 30 Motorised Infantry Brigades, 4 Armoured Brigades, and 26 Tank Destroyer Brigades

All of this paled in comparison to the forces available to Germany. For the rest of the year and maybe all of next year Mussolini was going to have to commit every available ounce of national resources to increasing the infantry, and the airforce, with the navy last. The major priority was the new look Italian offensive combat unit - 2 Motorised Brigades and 2 Tank Destroyer Brigades and on the completion of his Superior Firepower research he would add a brigade of Self Propelled artillery to these forces. Five more wings of interceptors were needed, not to take the fight to the enemy but to prevent him from bringing the fight to Italy, and possibly 4 new light cruisers were needed.

Looking at his research dossiers, Mussolini was happier with progress here - his infantry and artillery were equipped with technology that experts did not expect to see in the field until 1942, as were his cruisers, destroyers and the RM Aquila. It was beginning to occur to his research teams that the best available Tank Destroyers would be those based on a Medium Tank chassis, not the light tank chassis he was currently using. Advancements into Medium Tanks were started and the teams here were told to concentrate on nothing else. With infantry and artillery as up to date as resources would allow everything else was thrown into advancing industry, its ability to produce, what it could produce and how often it could produce it and various military doctrines were developed.







The elite infantry and light tank research programmes, and medium tank research catching up, the gun here is not the gun on the tank destroyers so can be left out





The tank destroyer gun and self propelled artillery research





The carriers and the cruiser research

In short Mussolini was going to have to retire the empire from any further fights and gains for approximately eighteen months - watching very closely what happened on the Russian borders, and keeping a close eye on Great Britain

[JasonPratt]

Germany ought to be remembering how far the Roman Empire eventually extended. I'm sure England does. ;)

I noticed Portugal was missing in your account of potential targets, but afterward it seems clear you aren't thinking of going there either. Are they already Allied or Axis, or too close to one or the other side already despite being neutral? Or is it more a matter of "not enough value to getting it now, compared to giving our troops rest and training and focusing on leveling up our bling"?

(I would assume the same answer would be true for extension from Ethiopia into central Africa.)

[Keunert]

not to question your abilities, after all you are italian yourself, but i do hope the ai will give you greater challenges the bigger you grow. i remember playing EU I and it felt like playing on a normal setting was leading to an autowin.

how difficult was it to achieve this a historical result so far? i do not know the game and just wonder how you feel about the difficulty so far?

great great aar, i enjoy this tremendously!

[undercovergeek]

Germany ought to be remembering how far the Roman Empire eventually extended. I'm sure England does. ;)

I noticed Portugal was missing in your account of potential targets, but afterward it seems clear you aren't thinking of going there either. Are they already Allied or Axis, or too close to one or the other side already despite being neutral? Or is it more a matter of "not enough value to getting it now, compared to giving our troops rest and training and focusing on leveling up our bling"?

(I would assume the same answer would be true for extension from Ethiopia into central Africa.)

Portugal is slowly drifting towards the Axis - it would/should have been my follow on after Spain fell but after viewing the diplomacy numbers i suspect another invasion of a non axis/allied nation may just push the opposing side over the edge and start a war with Italy - my whole reason for staying away from Hitler was not to get sucked into a war with Russia, and if russia feels it necessary to attack me it may weaken its front with Germany making it easier for Germany in the long run - basically its about making sure Russia is happy!

not to question your abilities, after all you are italian yourself, but i do hope the ai will give you greater challenges the bigger you grow. i remember playing EU I and it felt like playing on a normal setting was leading to an autowin.

how difficult was it to achieve this a historical result so far? i do not know the game and just wonder how you feel about the difficulty so far?

great great aar, i enjoy this tremendously!

apart from Spain which was a logistic problem not a forces one i have vastly outnumbered my enemy, and rightly so its been a pushover - this was only ever going to be a build up to one of 2 big showdowns the UK or Germany - both of which have more forces, more manpower and more industrial capacity than i do - that will be the big challenge, and isnt too far away!

[undercovergeek]

Whilst the United Kingdom was faring reasonably well in the Middle East, their allies were not faring so well in Europe, even without Hitler's requested attack on southern France by the Empire.



Rotterdam lies in ruins after the German attack and her forces are smashed - in the last week of May 1940 the Netherlands surrender

Within two weeks the German army races through Belgium taking the important port of Antwerp...............



Panzers roll towards the outskirts of Brussels, June 1940

............and a week later German troops parade past the Belgian Royal Palace



Unimpeded the Germans commence their attack on France, the Maginot Line provides no resistance to the might of the blitzkreig



By the middle of July the Germans surround Paris

Within ten days Paris has fallen and the Germans race to the Northern coast to prevent any invasion by the UK



With Paris sacked and the coast defended the mighty Teutonic hordes were inexorably advancing towards the Empire's borders. Mussolini was concerned that they would not stop, but would continue to roll all the way to Gibraltar. However, on August 29 1940 France betrayed their English allies and offered a separate peace. Eager to isolate the the implacable British, Hitler demonstrated uncharacteristic mercy and generosity to his prostrate foe. Northern France and the entire Atlantic seawall were to be occupied by German troops, but a quasi-independent French state was to be set-up in Southern France in the town of Vichy under the nominal control of Maréchal Pétain. This French state also included attractive territories in Syria including Beirut, and vast tracts of land in North Africa, including the fabled Carthage -- all territories to which the Empire had an historical claim.



Hitler and Petain meet to discuss the new Vichy regime

Mussolini was initially very excited by the prospects of this development. The French were all but defeated as a world wide power, and the United Kingdom, who refused to recognize the Vichy Regime, would certainly not object too strenuously to a war waged on these traitors. Such a war would almost complete the Empire. Most important would be the addition of Gaul to the Empire, as it would provide the Empire with that all important land bridge to Iberia. However, upon review of the finer points of the establishing treaty between Germany and the Vichy Government, it became apparent that Germany was guaranteeing the independence of its puppet. Declaring war on Vichy would mean war with Germany. This considerably dampened Mussolini's enthusiasm for this development.



The French border in September 1940, tantalisingly unoccupied

Mussolini found himself in the frustrating position of being surrounded by territories that he wished to acquire for the Empire, but all those territories were secured by major powers. Any move by Italy would result in war with either the United Kingdom, Germany or the Soviet Union. Italy was not yet ready for such conflicts, but preparations were being made. An intricate defense network was established in Iberia. Every port was garrisoned with a division of one infantry brigade and one artillery brigade. This was thought to be sufficient to stop all but the most concerted efforts by the British if they were to attempt an amphibious assault. Pintor's full infantry corps, headquartered in Seville, was stationed around Gibraltar and Cadiz with instructions to take the rock if and when hostilities were ever to break out between the Empire and the United Kingdom. Mancinelli was headquartered in Zaragoza with his Alpini, defending the Pyrenees. Lisi's HQ was stationed as reserve in Madrid with his four divisions stationed in the surrounding countryside to discourage Spanish freedom fighters.

As the victorious soldiers returned from the conquest of Iberia, the defense of Northern Italy was reestablished, and the virtually empty provinces on the French border were re-occupied. Messe's corps was strategically placed in Trieste where it could defend the homeland if necessary or react to threats to the Balkan provinces. Scattini's pure Alpini were stationed in their element in the Alps in Vittorio Vento adjacent to Innsbruck, and Roatta's mixed mountaineer corps was stationed in Venezia. Skeleton divisions began appearing on each of the border provinces with Germany, starting with the Swiss border and continuing east to Russia, this was the beginning of Mussolini's final solution. These small divisions would be eventually formed into new corps of four full divisions each, unfortunately with them came a new crop of inexperienced leaders as the new divisions required more officers.

[Martok]

Hmm.  All bottled up with nowhere to go; no good! 

Is there anything Benny can do to disrupt the status quo? 

[undercovergeek]

barbarossa will be the big tell - if he makes a mess of it ill be right there, if he pulls it off ill join the little fella and see if i cant colonise London - i have a full corps of 4 divisions on every patch of land joining Germany and Italy from the little corner where Italy, Poland and and Russia meet in the east up to the Austrian border, a gap of 8 empty provinces that need 32 divisions then the last 5 provinces have a full corps in too - ill post a pic later - is it enough???

who knows

[Keunert]

no news is bad news, and no real life excuses pls

[undercovergeek]

Mussolini sighed, he'd tried to ignore the knocking at his bedroom door, he rolled over in his bed groaning at the pounding in his head and the aches racking his body. It was Ciano who had practically insisted he go to bed, his medical team almost dragging him to his private chambers.

There were worse times for him to have caught the flu, the Empire was in a state of change, for the first time in almost 5 years the people of Italy were not at war - they were a happy, propersous people enjoying the luxuries and trappings of membership of a new rising Empire.

Agents were at the Swiss border, the Austrian border and the Russian border - Mussolini had ordered that he be disturbed the second there was even a twitch from the foreign armies on these borders.

The knocking continued, he rose in a foul mood. Ciano stood on the other side of the door with an apologetic look

'Am i been attacked from anywhere?'

'No, Il Duce but this is the forty seventh time the German ambassador has asked us to join the Axis, i wanted to make sure the answer was still no'

The door slammed shut

[BanzaiCat]

With southern Europe essentially in Italian hands, I don't see how El Fuhrer-o could screw things up. Invading England would be a no-brainer.

[Martok]

Mussolini sighed, he'd tried to ignore the knocking at his bedroom door, he rolled over in his bed groaning at the pounding in his head and the aches racking his body. It was Ciano who had practically insisted he go to bed, his medical team almost dragging him to his private chambers.

There were worse times for him to have caught the flu, the Empire was in a state of change, for the first time in almost 5 years the people of Italy were not at war - they were a happy, propersous people enjoying the luxuries and trappings of membership of a new rising Empire.

Agents were at the Swiss border, the Austrian border and the Russian border - Mussolini had ordered that he be disturbed the second there was even a twitch from the foreign armies on these borders.

The knocking continued, he rose in a foul mood. Ciano stood on the other side of the door with an apologetic look

'Am i been attacked from anywhere?'

'No, Il Duce but this is the forty seventh time the German ambassador has asked us to join the Axis, i wanted to make sure the answer was still no'

The door slammed shut

LOL!  That was great.  :D 


I hope you've not actually been suffering the flu, though?  If so, you have my sincere sympathies. 

[Keunert]

Mussolini is writing this in person?

[undercovergeek]

Mussolini is writing this in person?

You said no real life excuses!

And no but I'm his guiding spirit

[undercovergeek]

As the year 1941 dawned, the New Roman Empire had formed an intricate defensive network that at least was able to cover most of its border, though it may have been too fragile if actually put to the test by Germany or the Soviet Union. There were also small half-divisions garrisoned on all the islands and ports, it was hoped this would be enough to turn back all but the most concerted amphibious assault by the United Kingdom, if it came to that. Mussolini felt prepared, but he loathed the reactive posture he had taken. He wanted to build up his forces to enable him to re-seize the initiative. But even with the help of occupied foreign factories and captured resource stockpiles, Italian industry still continued to struggle to keep up with her neighbor to the north.






By February of 1941, the Regio Esercito was training eight mountaineer brigades, eighteen self-propelled artillery brigades and eight more artillery brigades. These units would be merged with the motorised units for added indirect soft firepower. It was also building 12 anti tank brigades - the Regio Esercito was been split into two kind of Corps - a defensive corps made up of four divisions consisting of two infantry brigades, two artillery brigades and now with the completion of the study of superior firepower, allowing a fifth brigade to be added to a division, an anti-tank brigade. On the offensive side, divisions were being made up of two motorised brigades, two tank destroyer brigades and now an extra self propelled artillery brigade. It was also raising four new infantry divisions. The Regia Aeronautica continued to slowly expand the number of interceptors it required and the Regia Marina was constructing three more carriers.



The new tank destroyers rolling off the line at the Ansaldo factory in Rome.......



.....and the new SP Artillery seen at the Ansaldo sister factory in Milan

Developments in small RADAR and a new aero engine were being developed for Italian small aircraft, and techniques were being improved for ground attacks, port strikes, naval strikes and close air support generally. Research was directed at improving the engine, armor and reliability of Italy's all important tank destroyers. Finally doctrinaire improvements were being developed for mechanized offensives, special forces, assault concentration, and tactical command structure.

The German general staff and foreign diplomats all agreed on the obvious -- the New Roman Empire presented a serious and growing threat on Germany's southern border. But Germany was led by a madman and he could not comprehend the obvious, and he still saw Italia as his junior partner that would ultimately take her rightful place under Germany's wing. Hitler kept insisting that his diplomats pester Mussolini with incessant offers to join the Axis. Mussolini continued to provide polite demurrers. It wasnt so long ago Mussolini read a quote by the famous scientist Albert Einstein stating that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result - Mussolini was all but sold on the insanity of the man to to the North.

In June of 1941, with the United Kingdom still undefeated off its shores and with America having recently moved closer to the Allies, Hitler cast his precious Wehrmacht against the vast territories of the Soviet Union.



Mussolini had no love for the Bolsheviks and wanted more than anyone to see communism blotted from the earth. However, he had also read his history, and the massive Soviet Union could not be taken down by invasion. Nevertheless, Mussolini watched with great interest the advance of Hitler's armies. If they could quickly sweep eastward and occupy Moscow and Leningrad, then just maybe Germany could pull it off. Hitler may be crazy but if that were the case, Mussolini would have to reevaluate the offer to join the Axis and redirect his covetous eye from southern France to Gibraltar, Egypt and Iraq.

Right about this time Mussolini was taken completely by surprise by the reappearance of Nationalist Spain - on the tiny island of Santa Isobel off the coast of Cameroon, the people there had risen up against Italy and declared their land once again Spanish. At first bemused, Mussolini realised that his forces need to be mobilised to take back the small patch of land - in doing so his people would stand down on their need for luxury items and these extra industrial resources could be poured back into military production and industrial expansion - he smiled to himself, both at the tenacity of the islanders and the luck which had befallen him.



The brave but soon to be crushed islanders of Santa Isobel

Within weeks the Germans had taken all the territory occupied by Russia as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and blasted through the Soviet defences all across the border, the once secure North Eastern border of Russia and Italy was now practically all German as forces under Guderian raced towards the black sea - this wasnt working out as Mussolini had hoped



To the west at Turka stand the Italian Marines, only a few weeks ago this was the Eastern extent of the German border